


You Get What You Give

by islndgurl777



Series: give michael guerin a friend 2k19 (make that friend maria deluca) [10]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 08:06:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18442463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/islndgurl777/pseuds/islndgurl777
Summary: [From: Maria] (11:47 am): Guerin, I need to get out of this town before I kill someone.[From: Maria] (11:48 am): The fact that I feel I have to follow up my previous text with the addendum “Not literally” may or may not be the reason I need to get out of this town.[To: Maria] (12:04 pm): I know what you mean. I’ve been thinking about taking Daisy out to the middle of the desert and just camping there, like I used to do with Max and Isobel when we were kids. Get away from it all.[From: Maria] (12:14 pm): Can I come with?





	You Get What You Give

**Author's Note:**

> I made a post on tumblr (same username if you want to look me up) about how it's been many years since I was actually excited about my birthday or wanted to do anything significant for it, and I guess that bled over into this fic? That may be the only reason I arbitrarily put the Pod Squad's birthdays later in the summer after Maria's.
> 
> Anyways, I'm back at it again with writing from my boy's POV! Hope you guys like it! I truly appreciate all the amazing feedback I've been getting for this series here and on tumblr, thank you so much!
> 
> Unbeta'd. Title from New Radicals.

[From: Maria] (11:47 am): Guerin, I need to get out of this town before I kill someone.

 

[From: Maria] (11:48 am): The fact that I feel I have to follow up my previous text with the addendum “Not literally” may or may not be the reason I need to get out of this town.

 

Michael chuckles and shakes his head as he leans on the hood of the car he’s just finished fixing and texts her back.

 

[To: Maria] (12:04 pm): I know what you mean. I’ve been thinking about taking Daisy out to the middle of the desert and just camping there, like I used to do with Max and Isobel when we were kids. Get away from it all.

 

He cleans himself up and lets Daisy loose from the pen he keeps her in while he’s working, picking up one of her toys so he can throw it across the yard for her. 

 

[From: Maria] (12:14 pm): Can I come with?

 

[To: Maria:] (12:15 pm): Seriously?

 

Daisy fetches her toy but takes the long way back, dodging between stacks of junk and under cars, playfully growling the whole way. She wags her whole butt when she finally drops the toy at his feet, taking off at a run before it even leaves his hand again.

 

[From: Maria] (12:17 pm): What, you think I can’t rough it?

 

[From: Maria] (12:18pm): Let me remind you, I spent the night half naked on a single blanket in the middle of desert after drunk sex with /you/. I can handle camping in the desert for a night with a little preparation.

 

He laughs and shakes his head.

 

[To: Maria] (12:18 pm): I don’t doubt it, DeLuca.

 

[From: Maria] (12:19 pm): Great! Tomorrow, then? I have to work tonight.

 

He takes a beat before he answers, because that’s too perfect and he is immediately suspicious.

 

[To: Maria] (12:20 pm): That’s fine, but we have to be back in town by 4 the next day.

 

[From: Maria] (12:21 pm): Perfect. I can only rough it for one night anyways.

 

[From: Maria] (12:22 pm): Pick me up at noon? I’ll bring the food and booze, you bring the tent and sleeping bags.

 

He narrows his eyes but texts her back an affirmative, then he texts Liz.

 

[To: Liz] (12:23 pm): Taking Maria camping tomorrow. Back by 4 the next day.

 

She texts back with an incoherent string of emojis, ending with a winky face and a thumbs-up sign. He rolls his eyes and puts his phone in his pocket, stooping to tug Daisy’s toy from her mouth so he can throw it again.

 

///

 

Daisy’s whole body is vibrating in the cab of his truck as she stares out the window, waiting for Maria to open the passenger door. Maria’s helping Michael load the coolers into the back, but he nudges her to greet his dog while he takes care of the rest. The squeal Maria lets loose as she struggles to slip into the cab under the onslaught of puppy kisses brings a grin to his lips.

 

Maria takes over the radio as soon as they get on the road, cranking the volume and singing at the top of her lungs whenever a good song comes on. Daisy joins in, howling and yipping along with her. Michael can’t help but laugh, shaking his head when Maria nudges at him to sing along while she serenades him.

 

Between loud renditions of pop and country songs, she turns down the radio almost all the way and they chat idly about what’s going on in their lives. Michael tells her about his Masters courses, and she talks about how her mother is doing. They drive sort of aimlessly for a long time before Maria tells him to turn off into the desert, telling him, “Your superpower is telekinesis. Mine is finding the perfect campsite. Have a little faith in me, Guerin.”

 

They wind around wiry desert trees and giant cacti, kicking up dust as they go. Finally, Maria says, “This is it,” so he parks the truck. They spend time clearing a big enough space for their tent and a small campfire, Daisy doing her part by bringing back the sticks they throw out of the way and laying them proudly in the middle of their campsite again.

 

It’s early evening by the time everything is set up, so they start a fire and cook their dinner. They sit on the tailgate and watch the sun start to drift behind the mountains in the distance.

 

He eyes her as she takes a giant bite out of her hot dog, mustard dripping down her chin. “You know, I gotta say, at the risk of you murdering me and burying my body in the desert where no one will ever find it, this doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d enjoy, DeLuca.”

 

She rolls her eyes at him and flips him off. When she’s swallowed her bite she says, “Like I said, Guerin. Sometimes I just have to get away from it all, and camping in the middle of nowhere is kind of perfect for that.”

 

He shakes his head and shrugs. “You got me there, I guess.”

 

After another bite she says, “I don’t know, when everything feels like it’s closing in on me, there’s just something about all the openness out here that makes it easier to breathe.”

 

She shrugs, but her voice is wistful. He swallows the last of his dinner, throwing the end of his hot dog down to Daisy, and says quietly, “What’s going on, Maria?”

 

She smiles and sways her body into his. “Nothing in particular. I think everything’s just hitting me all at once. My mom, the truth about Rosa, the revelation about aliens, you.”

 

He feels his heart speed up, uncertainty filling him. He hates that because he  _ knows _ Maria and he knows she’s not aiming to make him feel bad. “Me?”

 

Twining her arm through his and leaning on him, she nods. “Yeah. We’ve lived in the same town almost twenty years. We went to school together. We’ve seen each other and interacted at least once a week for the last ten years. Did you ever think we’d end up here?”

 

He feels a little spurt of panic like he does any time they even get close to talking about feelings. He ends up blurting without really thinking, “I just told you, this doesn’t seem like your kind of thing, DeLuca, so no, I guess not.”

 

She hits his arm and snorts. “You are the worst at emotional conversations, Michael Guerin, but you do always have a way of making me smile.”

 

She lifts her hand to his cheek, smiling up at him so softly and rubbing his scruff so gently it makes his chest hurt. Gruffly he manages, “I know what you mean. You’re like, my best friend or something, DeLuca.” He winces because he knows that doesn’t sound very heartfelt, even if he has never meant anything more in his whole life.

 

Still, she seems to get that because she squeezes his arm in a hug and rests her head on his shoulder, looking out at the sunset and still smiling. “Thanks, Guerin. You’re like, one of my best friends too.”

 

///

 

It’s full dark and Michael’s just stirring the fire, pulling some short branches from the pile he and Daisy had collected before dinner to stoke it higher for s’mores. The puppy helpfully starts chewing on one, then huffs unhappily at him when he gently extricates it from her mouth to throw it in the fire as well. “That’s not good for your teeth, Daisy-lady,” he says, scratching her ears in apology. She grumbles again, but lays down a safe distance from the fire and closes her eyes.

 

When he turns back to the truck, Maria is holding a single cupcake with one lit candle on top. “Double chocolate with a cream cheese, cookies and cream filling. Happy birthday, Michael.”

 

“What?” he says, letting out a baffled laugh. This was not how the night was supposed to go. “My birthday’s not for another month.”

 

She raises an eyebrow and says drily, “It’s not a surprise if it happens on the day of your birthday, is it?” His eyes widen and he makes an incoherent sound as she continues, “Besides, this isn’t your actual present, I can give that to you at the party I’m sure Isobel is already planning for the Pod Squad.” Before he can start to unpack  _ that _ she finishes by shrugging. “I just figured camping out is  _ your _ kind of birthday party, and it’s not really fair that you have to share your day with Max and Isobel anyways. You should get your own celebration.”

 

He finally has to let out a loud laugh at that, which startles Daisy awake and has her running around them in circles, barking. “It’s funny you should say that, because I brought your birthday present so I could give it to you tonight.”

 

Her lips quirk and she steps forward to hand him his cupcake. “You mean you’re not going to give it to me at my party tomorrow?”

 

He groans and looks up at the sky, fighting a grin. “How did you know?”

 

She hums and says, “Can’t hide a surprise from a psychic, Guerin.”

 

“Pretend for their sakes’, will you, DeLuca? They were so sure they had you this year.” He blows out the candle and plucks it from the top, pulling off the paper wrap before shoving the whole thing into his mouth. “ ‘sgood,” he manages, chocolate frosting smeared all around his mouth.

 

She grimaces and shakes her head. “That was gross.”

 

He shrugs then holds up a finger for her to stay put while he runs over to the truck, digging under the front seat for her gift. He strides back to her confidently, but his heart is hammering wildly in his chest. “Happy birthday, Maria.”

 

“Thank you,” she says, sounding genuinely pleased.

 

He puts his hands in his front pockets and watches as she carefully unwraps the box. “It’s not much. I made it myself, actually, but I couldn’t think of anything I could buy you that you would want so…”

 

“Homemade is the best kind. It shows you put thought and effort into it.” The wrapping paper gets tossed to the ground and Daisy immediately pounces on it. Maria pulls open the top of the box, lifting pieces of tissue paper from the top of the gift.

 

He swallows hard and sways in place, hoping she’ll understand.

 

Gently, she lifts the wind chime from the box, holding it up so she can see it in the firelight. Pieces of silver and copper metal twist down in ringlets, swaying gently. Among them, other corkscrews of metal wrap around pieces of colored glass, creating a pleasant melody of sounds as she slowly twists it back and forth to look at it. “This is gorgeous, Michael,” she says, looking over at him with a delighted smile. He must be projecting his nervousness, because she furrows her brow and steps closer to the fire with it, looking carefully at each piece. Her breath catches and she freezes, eyes shooting up to lock with his.

 

He bites his lip as he steps up next to her, shrugging nonchalantly, though his heart still feels like it’s beating a million miles an hour. “It’s just a small piece, but I figure, I don’t really need it anymore, and it does give off a pretty sparkle, so…” He shrugs and breaks eye contact.

 

They’re both quiet for a long time, Michael staring at the mixture of green, purple, and luminescent pink-gold glass hanging from her wind chime, Maria staring steadily at him. Finally she takes a breath and says, “Thank you, Michael. I promise I’ll keep it safe.”

 

“I know,” he says softly, reaching out to pull her into a hug.

 

They stay up late swapping their most embarrassing drinking stories, whispers traded in the dark of their tent as Daisy snores and yips in her sleep between them. Maria doesn’t bring up the significance of her present after her promise to keep it safe. He doesn’t want to have a long, drawn-out  _ feelings _ talk about it, and he’s grateful that Maria understands him well enough to leave it at that.

 

They take their time packing up after they sleep in the next morning, knowing they don’t need to be back to Roswell until the afternoon. Maria sunbathes while Michael throws an endless number of sticks for Daisy to chase out into the desert. It’s peaceful, and he has to admit, even if it’s technically  _ her _ birthday, this is exactly the kind of birthday celebration he likes for himself, and he’s happy they could celebrate it together.

 

Finally Maria sighs, stands up, and says, “Alright, Guerin. Time to get going. I still need to make it home in time to shower and pick an outfit that’s casual enough for a party that it looks like I didn’t know there was one, but still dressy enough that I don’t regret my birthday pictures. It’s a delicate line.”

 

The drive back is quiet and comfortable. They’re maybe ten minutes outside of town when he says, “Thanks for the awesome party, DeLuca. And happy birthday.”

 

She smiles and nods, reaching over to squeeze his hand, all the while continuing to look out her window. “Thanks for sticking around, Guerin. I’d miss you if you were gone.”

 

He squeezes her hand back and says quietly, “Me too.”


End file.
